


Fire Will Burn Our Love

by forgottenjeevas



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: BAMF Dorian, M/M, Partial Mind Control, Spirit Cole (Dragon Age), motivation needed, trying to continue this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2018-11-03 06:22:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10961514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forgottenjeevas/pseuds/forgottenjeevas
Summary: Dorian Pavus is going on a journey with the Inquisitor to the Storm Coast, and everything is normal. Well, normal for the time at least, with Corypheus and his evil minions trying to take over the world.So when Dorian stops to rest for the night, he is still hurting from Alexius and Felix's deaths. Cole comforts him, and the two grow closer.Then everything gets creepy.{Cole X Dorian Pavus}





	1. 1. Storm Coast

{Dorian's POV} 

Could things get any worse? Probably not. 

 

With the Inquisitor traveling around picking up spindleweed and blood lotus, slaying random bandits that had been camped around the island, and trying to enter a cave then being attacked by spiders, it was safe to say that it has been a long day. 

 

When it came to the Storm Coast, there is always bears to fight. Today was no exception. I was caught on the wrong end of the claws, and now my shoulder is aching. I knew I needed to move, but I stayed where I was, and that was my fault. Next time I would move. The Inquisitor wrapped my poor shoulder as best as he could, and honestly it felt better, but it would take some time to fully heal. Until then, I had to wear this damn bandage that did nothing for my smooth skin. Well, not as smooth as it had been. 

 

As I sit by the flickering fire, I stare up at the moon and wonder what kind of man I would have been, had I not left the Imperium. Surely my father would have had me marry some girl, and I would be forced to hide who I truly am. That didn't sound appealing, and I frowned at the horrid memories of Father almost winning. He had tried to control me, change me, but... something had stopped him. Was it me? I couldn't remember. The next thing I remember after the tingling in my brain is being chased, and I had no choice but to keep running. Then, eventually, I ended up at Redcliffe castle helping a madman try to take over the world. I wasn't aware of that, of course, however that doesn't excuse what I did. I could have hurt everyone that I cared about with my stupidity. 

 

"You didn't know." I hadn't heard Cole come up behind me, so I turned to look at him. He had his hair in his eyes and his hat angled so his face was covered in shadows anyway, but I tried to look at him and see his face. 

 

"I know." I sighed, rubbing my mustache with my fingers, turning back to watch the fire. "But we fixed it now. Alexius is... taken care of..." 

 

Cole tilted his head, lowering himself to sit cross-legged next to me on the grass and sand. He was obviously feeling my hurt, and he frowned. "You didn't want him to die. I'm sorry." 

 

I was quiet, trying not to think about Alexius. Because thinking about him made my mind wander to Felix. Poor Felix, he didn't live the life he should have. "Damn Venatori."

 

There was a rustling in the trees, the wind making the air colder. The rocks amidst the grass shuffled as Cole ran his hands over them. I watched, unable to help thinking how he felt about this whole thing. He was happy that Alexius was executed, but was sorry for it. He was always so cryptic, it was hard to understand him most of the time. 

 

"You hurt, sad, worried, confused. How do I fix this? How do I stop hurting?" Cole recites, and I sigh. Of course he's reading my mind. "Oh, sorry." He says sheepishly when I give him a look. 

 

I couldn't help but hate feeling like this. The helplessness, the anxiousness. "You wouldn't understand, Cole. Just... leave it be." How could he possibly understand if I couldn't?

 

Cole watches me for a moment, eyes wide and crystal blue, like the sky mixed with the ocean on the best day, when there is no war. The way he looked at me, I had no choice but to let him help. I didn't want to become my father, cruel and not accepting. I nodded slightly to the boy, and he smiles in relief. It clearly made him feel better. 

 

He spoke gently, like he was trying to calm me. It worked. "Let's go to our tent. It's quiet there."

 

I shrugged, making my way to my feet, my feet aching from walking all day. Tomorrow would be worse if I didn't rest. So I led the spirit to the tent we shared, and we both laid down on our bed rolls. 

 

"Do you actually sleep?" I had to ask. After I'd woken from a nightmare the night before and found him staring at me, it was unnerving. "Or do you just stare at me all night?"

 

"I listen to the old songs, soothing, gentle, calm. It sways, lets me relax and help more." Cole smiles slightly, explaining. But I still don't get it. 

 

"So you never rest? You never seem tired during the day, or at night now that I think about it." I was genuinely curious, watching the tiniest flicker of confusion cross his face. 

 

He seems to be confused, responding only after I cleared my throat, prompting him. He must have been off in his own world, thinking, helping, or both. "Have you ever been underwater?" 

 

I frowned now, worried where this conversation was going. What did water have to do with anything? "Once or twice, never anything important, though. Why do you ask, Cole?"

 

"I've felt it, but it's different from last time. It pulls, twists, but it's hard to tell..."

 

"Cole?" I sat up, turning to face him as he continued to lay down on the bed roll. 

 

His eyes closed, and I really got worried then. I'd never seen him blink, let alone close his eyes. Especially like this. 

 

He opened his eyes, his blue eyes locking on my brown ones. Was he.... crying? Did spirits cry? Could they cry? "You worry for me." He sounded sad, yet slightly afraid. "Thank you. You watch me walk into darkness over and over, and always worry. You should worry, Dorian."

 

"Why should I be worried, other than the fact you aren't acting normal?" From his strange behavior to the wet streaks on his face now, I was worried for him. Spirits usually didn't act like this. "Does this have to do with your trip with the Inquisitor, Solas, and Varric?"

 

Cole was silent for a while, and I almost thought he wouldn't answer my question. Then he lifted his hand, reaching towards the tent-covered sky, moving ever so slowly. I'd never seen him being so... delicate like this. I touched my fingers to his trembling hand, and he tensed visibly. "I help people. You shouldn't have to help me. That's not your job." 

 

He lowered his hand, and I shifted, my legs beginning to ache. "It's alright, Cole..." I was hesitant, hoping I didn't say the wrong thing. "You don't have to help me. But you have to let me help you, if something's wrong." He didn't answer. "You know I will help you if you need it, right?"

 

He closed his eyes again, and I held my breath. "I understand." For a while, he lied there, unmoving, eyes shut, and I watched him. What could be going through his mind right now? What was wrong with him? I wanted to help, but I didn't know how. He wouldn't tell me. 

 

"I feel... scared, Dorian." Cole was quiet, and I let that sink in. Cole was afraid? There had to be a very good reason. 

 

"Can you tell me why?"

 

"I..." Cole opened his eyes, crawling to the entrance of the tent and peeking out, his fingers peeling the fabric back tentatively. 

 

I watched him, like I usually did when he got like this. But it had never been like this. The spirit boy was caught in between the battle in his head and the conflicting emotions of everyone else that he wasn't sure how to help. Cole wasted no time lifting his thin frame through the gap, and I heard his footsteps trailing away. Frowning and more confused than ever now, I got up and followed him. It wasn't like I had much of a choice. If he got himself hurt somehow, I couldn't just sit idly by and not help. And I didn't want to be the one to tell the Inquisitor Cole wandered off and I hadn't followed. 

 

So I trailed behind him, watching, waiting. He knelt down at one point as he wandered down the mountainside, hands sweeping over some of the taller patches of grass. I tilted my head, unsure if I should ask him about it, or let him work whatever this was out. Cole suddenly whipped his head around, his hat never budging or threatening to fall off, and a bear appeared only paces from us. I clenched my staff tightly, summoning mana into it. Cole on the other hand seemed out of it. He obviously saw the bear, but when he stood up to draw his daggers from their sheaths, he was slower than normal. And he didn't disappear like I'd taught him, either. He stood there, waiting behind me, as if I had to make the first move. 

 

I'd made a mistake. I was too focused on Cole for too long, and the bear made contact with my battle armor. It was a different bear than earlier, but that didn't mean it hurt any less. I cried out as my bad shoulder hit the bear's leg, shoving it off of me and sending electric sparks into the beast. It growled, and I saw Cole stabbing the bear's fur, his face pained and sweating at the same time. He almost looked ill. I managed to stun the bear, only for a few seconds. But I used those few seconds to cast a worried look at Cole. He didn't seem to see it, and the bear was back in action. 

 

Cole could take a beating, everyone knew it, but this was worse. It was like he was fighting blindly, had no idea how to fight. "Cole, watch out!" I called to him, sending a wave of healing magic over to him, trying to protect him as much as I could while the bear tore his skin open, leaving his clothes stained red. He swung his arms, the sharp blades slicing, but it wasn't the Cole I'd seen previously in fights. This made me panic, and I got as close as Cole was to the bear, raising the bottom end of my staff to thrust into the damn creatures head. 

 

That did the trick, and the bear fell with a thud to the ground, followed by Cole. He didn't make any noise of pain, only blinked several times as I settled him on my lap. "Cole?" I muttered. No response. I grew frantic. "Cole!" I shook him as hard as I could without causing him pain. Examining his body, he was still bleeding out, but not fast enough to make him unresponsive. He hadn't lost that much blood, so I didn't know what in Thedas was wrong with him. 

 

With almost no effort- even with my bad shoulder- I cradled Cole in my arms, making sure to grab my staff as the only protection. Hopefully there wouldn't be any more bears or bandits to greet us. We were so close to the ocean, I could smell the salt in the air. The night was calm, but my heart was racing faster than it ever had. Faster than when I'd ran for my life to get away from the magisterium. 

 

With the limp body in my arms, I took off running, away from the safety of the camp. I didn't have a clue what I was doing, but something was calling me to the shore. I obeyed, trudging down the mountain trail and sighing in relief when my feet touched sand. Only a few more paces, then I could set Cole down and see how I could help him. He still hadn't made a sound, even when I almost slipped on the wet rocks on the mountain. 

 

Cole felt heavier now that I'd set him down. Lifeless, open eyes staring at the starry sky. I knew he was breathing, his chest rising and falling as fast as mine was. I had no choice. I couldn't let Cole bleed out, and I needed to clean him up to see what the problem was. Why hadn't I gone back to the camp and gotten better help? There were healers there, far better than what I could do. After ripping my robes- something I hated having to do- I wrapped the fabric around Cole's poor stomach, his left arm, and measured his breathing. Too fast. "Listen, Cole, if you can hear me, I need you to tell me what hurts the most. Can you do that?" 

 

Struggling immensely, Cole lifted a shaky hand to touch his fingers to his forehead. It wasn't bleeding, and I wasn't sure if he'd hit it during the fight. But if he said it hurt, I would damn well do everything I could to help him feel better. I would honor my word, damn it. He couldn't stop me from doing that. I tore another large piece of fabric off my tattered robes and soaked it in the ocean water before bringing it back and laying it on Cole's sweating face. It was like he was too hot, despite the chilly night air that was the Storm Coast. It didn't make sense. 

 

"Dorian..." Cole's voice was weak, trembling, and downright heartbreaking to hear. He was trying to tell me something, but couldn't get the words out. I leaned closer, but all that he could do was rest his hand on my forehead. Frowning, I opened my mouth to speak, but when I looked around, there was a flash, and the moment was gone. I was standing on the sandy shore, Cole's body laying several paces away, with a dark cloud surrounding him. 

 

Maker.... That did not look good, no matter how many times I tried to tell myself it wasn't real, that it wasn't happening. It was real, and something terrible was happening to Cole. The bloody darkness surrounding him, hovering like storm clouds that held dangerous warnings. 

 

Cole cried out, and the voice echoed. Now I understood. He couldn't speak, so he was showing me. This was what was happening, but I wasn't able to see it. Cole's mind held him trapped, and he was struggling to get out of it. The way he writhed on the sand, coating his bloody tunic with sand made me want to forget I ever saw it. I didn't want this image burned into my head. I never wanted to see Cole like this. "What can I do?" I looked at him helplessly. He locked eyes with me, and I saw him gather strength. "How can I stop this?" Whatever this was. 

 

The body was hard to look at, but getting harder and harder to see through the blackness. But his voice was perfectly clear, echoing in my head. "Kill him." It was difficult to believe that the voice was Cole talking, and I couldn't make sense of it. 

 

"Kill who? What's going on?!" I was dizzy, fighting to stay standing now. I wouldn't be able to stay in Cole's mind for much longer. The dark was getting too strong. 

 

The final cry from Cole before Dorian collapsed into the darkness left Dorian angry and confused and scared all at once. Someone who he never imagined would have any connection to this scenario. 

 

"SOLAS!"


	2. Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dorian gets to the bottom of Cole's pain, and Solas is different than the man he first met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long wait! But for that one comment that made my day, here is the next chapter!

The pain was worse than I ever remember experiencing, and it hurt to open my eyes. The sounds were from a distance, just outside the tent that I was laying in. The Storm Coast was proving to be a challenge for me, and that wasn't normal. I've only had challenges when the Battle for Haven started, and all those red templars were singing... But this was different than after that fight. This was worse, like my mind was clouded with some kind of magic that I wasn't familiar with. I couldn't hear the thoughts of the people outside the tent, even though they needed answers for their pains... 

 

Why couldn't I hear them, sweet yet still sad, whispers and shouts? My mind felt completely empty, leaving my own voice to fill it. That wasn't preferable. 

 

All I focused on was trying to get better, healing with the potions that Dorian had left just beside my blanket that wasn't covering me at all. For some reason, I wasn't cold, but I wasn't hot either. It was that in between state that just was. There was nothing special about it, other than the fact that I couldn't feel the wind or the rain like I had last night. 

 

Last night... It was all a blur, pain blinding me... Was there a bear? Dorian calling my name, but then nothing... I woke up in the tent, listening to Dorian and the Inquisitor argue and argue about me. It was not gentle, their words cutting like knives, the air seeming to freeze for a while before the other person snapped back. It was dangerous, and I had to stop them. This wasn't right, I wasn't that important... They didn't have to fight over me, and I didn't want them to. I didn't matter, as long as they didn't hurt. But how could I help them if I couldn't hear their pain?

 

The Inquisitor was truly mad, something about Dorian screwing something up, and Dorian fought back as if it came naturally to him. The two couldn't agree on whether it was better to take me back to Skyhold or wait until I woke up. I was awake, but not well enough rested to make the trip back to Skyhold. My head wouldn't even lift from the pillow, let alone my body. 

 

"How could you let this happen, Dorian? Why didn't you look after him?" 

 

"If you would listen to me, I tried. I followed him when he went wandering in the night, didn't I? You should be thanking me--"

 

"THANKING YOU?" The Inquisitor screeched. "YOU CAME BACK THIS MORNING WITH COLE ALMOST DEAD!" 

 

It didn't matter what Dorian said next. They would keep fighting unless I did something. Several deep breaths, then I moved my hands to support my body as I tried to sit up. It was painful, but I bit my lip and continued struggling until my head was in the air, then my chest, then the upper half of my body was completely up. Breathing was harder sitting up, and I sat there for several minutes before I couldn't take the shouting anymore. 

 

"If you would just listen, Inquisitor, then perhaps you would see no reason to yell at me, hm?" Dorian was holding his ground, and the Inquisitor made a noise of disgust, shoving Dorian backwards and turning to the tent. Alarmed, the Inquisitor raced towards me, Dorian right behind to catch me. 

 

I couldn't stand, the pain was too much. Body bound, mind empty... The word Tranquil came to mind, but that wasn't possible. I wasn't a mage, and my friends wouldn't do that to me. I was hollow, full of only pain, and I didn't know how to help them stop fighting. 

 

"Cole, why are you out of bed? Two hours isn't enough time for that healing potion to take effect!" Dorian asked me why, but I couldn't answer. The two of them finally worked together, helping me back into the bed and I was laying down again. 

 

"Do you feel alright? You weren't talking when Dorian brought you back this morning." The Inquisitor no doubt had questions, but I didn't know how to answer. My mind was shrouded in darkness, and I couldn't hear how to help. Dorian was the same way, concerned eyes watching me carefully. 

 

"It hurts..." My voice surprised me, quieter than it was in my head, and raspy from lack of use. 

 

"What hurts, Cole?" Dorian reached for the stack of potions he'd left beside my bedroll, frowning as he lifted my blanket and found the glass vial. "Did you already drink this?"

 

I nodded as best as I could, and he looked surprised. "You shouldn't have taken any potion until I was here to help you, Cole. This could have been dangerous."

 

I blinked, the smallest movement of it hurting my head. "I remember you giving it to me in the Hinterlands. I knew it was the right one."

 

Dorian sighed, then shook his head, glancing at the Inquisitor then back to me. "I'm just glad you're okay. Other than the pain, are you feeling alright? How is your shoulder, your stomach?" He glanced at my bandages, then tilted his head, waiting for my answer. 

 

But the problem was, I didn't know how to answer. Should I tell him that I was fine? That would be lying, but it would help him. He wouldn't worry so much about me, and that would help him. The Inquisitor was hard to read, but the usual pains of his hand and worry about Corypheus popped into my head. This was strange, getting used to not having the right words to say, and not knowing. How could I help them both and make things not hurt? 

 

"I am... empty." I whispered, the realness of it sinking in quickly. 

 

"Empty?" Both of them echoed, equally confused. 

 

I tried to explain, how the pain was terrible, and the healing potion hadn't worked like it had the last time, but I didn't want them to worry. 

 

"My head... I can't hear the hurts..." 

 

Both of them exchanged looks, then didn't speak. I watched them watch me, and I knew I hadn't made things better for them. Now they would worry about me... But if I didn't tell them the truth, this pain wouldn't go away, and if I wanted to protect the Inquisitor and fight next to him on this mission, I would need my strength to wield my daggers. 

 

"Stay here, Cole. We will help you, okay?" The Inquisitor stood, nudging Dorian on the shoulder before leaving, and he waited until he was out of earshot to hand me a handful of something, then he was gone, too. 

 

I frowned, cradling the items in my hand and memorized the feel of them. My head hurt to move, and my arm strength was gone, so I settled for rubbing my fingers over them, a small smile of familiarity appearing on my face. 

 

Flowers, like the ones I had stopped to feel last night. They were rare on the Storm Coast, but they were my favourite to look at, ever since we found them in the Lyrium Falls. I'd never thought of picking them to keep, but Dorian wanted to help.

 

And he did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I just started typing with this XD I felt bad for leaving this unfinished for months, so I knew I had to get back to it. If anyone has any suggestions or things they want to see in the future, don't be afraid to leave a comment!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic of this length and plot, so I hope you guys like it. If you have any suggestions, let me know, and I will try to incorporate them later into the story.


End file.
